Winning a huge lottery jackpot has been a curse for some

by Demarco Morgan

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MIAMI, FL —

New information tonight (Friday) on the Powerball Lottery; the jackpot is now at $800 million due to strong sales across the nation. However, as Demarco Morgan explains, the prospect of becoming an overnight millionaire, doesn't always lead to happiness.

If you do happen to win, you could still end up a loser.

"The historical assumption is if you win the lottery you're set," said Attorney Andrew Stoltmann. Unfortunately, the overwhelmingly majority of lottery winners don't have that story."

Attorney Andrew Stoltmann said has represented six people who've seen their lottery winnings disappear.

"Once this person wins the lottery they become a global target," said Stoltmann. "There are literally people across the world who put these people on a list to harass and harrain and try to sell bad investments and also just try to take their money."

Last year, a study found that 44-percent of lottery winners spend their winnings within five years.

Some call these misfortunes, the "Lottery Curse" when winners find their luck has run out.

In 2002, Jack Whittaker hit the Powerball jackpot winning nearly $315 million. Years later, his family life fell apart and he was arrested twice.

Abraham Shakespere of Florida was murdered after winning $30 million.

And just this week, Powerball winner Marie Holmes made headlines after spending millions bailing her boyfriend out of jail yet, another time.

Author Michael Norton suggests the key to happiness is sharing some of the prize money.

"First off, lots of people end up perfectly fine," said Norton. "People who struggle after winning the lottery actually are the people who do things like quit their job, buy an island and move to it."

Curse or no curse

"I'm gonna have a lot of money," said lottery player.

With more than a half a billion dollars on the line, plenty of Americans are willing to take a gamble.

"What else in the world could you possibly buy for $2 or $4 where walking around carrying it for a couple of days makes you feel like maybe you're gonna be a multi-millionaire tomorrow," said Norton."